Saturday, June 6, 2015

5 More New Ways to Use Technology at Family Reunion Activities

This weekend my son Matthew and I are speaking at the SCGS Jamboree. One of our sessions includes sharing lots of great ideas about incorporating technology into your family reunions this summer. When your family spends time learning about their family history together, it creates strong bonds in a way no other activity can. And guess what? Genealogy can be entertaining and interesting, especially when you get technology involved.

I'll be speaking on "Family History Adhesive: Science and Simple Tech
for Binding Families" and "Family Links:Easy Interactive Online
Activities to Share Your Family History". And Matthew will be giving
his "Get to Know Your Geezers" lecture. If you are at Jamboree, we'd love to see you there. If you're not, two of
our lectures are being streamed live. You can catch them on Sunday
morning and Sunday afternoon at
http://genealogyjamboree.com/2015/schedule-streaming.html

I'll be talking about some of the new ideas we've put in our Family Reunion E-books. Here is a sampling of a few of the new ways to use technology at your family reunion from the books:

Family YouTube Channel. Be sure you are creating new family history for the next generation to enjoy by preserving the audio and video of these family history presentations. Record the talent show, the family lip sync and the family history skits and share them with family members or upload them to your family YouTube channel.

Interview a Generation. Set up a couple of comfortable chairs in a location with good lightingand a video camera on a tripod. Let family members interview each other and tell stories andsing songs together. You could provide sample question prompts or a specific topic to talkabout or just let family members come up with their own. Post the videos on the family websiteor your family YouTube channel. These videos are great to share online after the reunion or watch together at the next reunion.

Health Survey. Create a family health survey to find out more about health trends in yourfamily. Family members could answer the survey on paper, or electronically throughSurveyMonkey.com or a Google Doc survey. If you have a health worker in the family theymay be able to collect the surveys before the reunion and prepare a presentation about the findings or you might hire a professional outside the family to analyze the information. Discusswhat the family can do to be healthier.

Family History Prezi Presentation. Collect family photos, videos and stories into a Prezi.compresentation. (Ask a younger family member to help assemble the presentation if necessary.)Tell about the immigration of an ancestor, or a particularly hard challenge that a family member overcame. Or focus on the timeline of one ancestor and experiences they had in their lifetime. Deliver the presentation to your family with an LCD projector and make the presentation public and share it over your family’s social media so they can view it again later.

Google Earth Presentation. Place your family history into a geographical context with a tourof where your family came from. Include photos, videos and map overlays to describe whatyour family’s past was like. Present your production to the family in a special show with anLCD projector.

If you are unfamiliar with some of these online resources, choose your favorites and delegate them to those who welcome technology. It's a great way to get the techies in your life involved with other family members and showing off their skills.

These ideas along with many others are included in my newest book, "My Ancestor Family Reunion Version". Over 100 pages of meaningful family reunion ideas and activities will involve all ages both in the family reunion planning and at the event itself. Choose from 8 versions of "My Ancestor Family Reunion" that teach more about British, German, Jewish, Swedish, Mormon, Danish, Civil War, and Pioneer heritage. Click here to purchase this e-book now for immediate download. You will instantly have ideas to implement at your upcoming family reunion. Happy planning!